Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Raises Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,146 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 926 shares during the quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Caterpillar were worth $840,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 2.6% in the third quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Caterpillar by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 709 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in Caterpillar by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its position in Caterpillar by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 1,807 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Caterpillar by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 3,466 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Caterpillar Stock Up 0.1 %

CAT stock opened at $406.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $252.42 and a 52 week high of $418.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $357.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $5.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.33 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $16.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.37 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 59.09% and a net margin of 16.26%. Caterpillar’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Caterpillar Inc. will post 21.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Caterpillar Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $1.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $5.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Caterpillar’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.15%.

Insider Transactions at Caterpillar

In other news, insider Lange Bob De sold 12,657 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $410.25, for a total transaction of $5,192,534.25. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 71,107 shares in the company, valued at $29,171,646.75. The trade was a 15.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO William E. Schaupp sold 968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.98, for a total value of $368,788.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $642,332.28. This represents a 36.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,589 shares of company stock valued at $7,113,953 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CAT. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Caterpillar from $445.00 to $435.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI cut shares of Caterpillar from an “in-line” rating to an “underperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $321.00 to $365.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Caterpillar from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $349.00 to $332.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Caterpillar from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Caterpillar currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.33.

Caterpillar Profile

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.